Working from home went pretty well today. But I have come to the realization that I need a bigger desk or a second desk. The problem is that I don’t really have the space for a bigger desk let alone another desk … unless I get rid of my kitchen table. I have my desktop and laptop on my desk and used the kitchen table today for my work laptop. That worked well except for the fact that I don’t have room to put stuff so I can take notes. I might look around and see what I can find, but I’ll just have to make due for now.

As for my paycheck … Justin gave me one yesterday when we were in Jamestown … just in case the one Kelly mailed didn’t show up. Turns out it did show up. She mailed it Friday but it wasn’t postmarked ’til Monday. And since Tuesday was a holiday, I didn’t get it ’til yesterday. Damn postal service. Talk about stressing me out for bills. But all is well now.

Other than that … it’s the same old same old with me. Not really don’t anything other than working. I am loving the laptop though. I still have a few more things to put on it. I think I’ll work on removing unneeded programs from my desktop this weekend to free up space. Then I’ll start ripping more of my CDs. I’d like to get as much of my music on there as possible. And since I got my network all hooked up between my desktop and my laptop, I can listen to my music on the lappy. That’ll be nice in the summer when I’m out on my balcony playing with the lappy.

I’d better go fill out some of the paperwork I have for the new job so I can send it in to them. Don’t want any delays in getting on the insurance plan. It’s bad enough that I’ve got to wait 60 days … especially since my eye drops are about $120 per refill. I think I’ve got enough to last me ’til the new plan kicks in though. And I’ll find out on Saturday if they’re actually doing any good … I’ve got my follow up appointment. And I should be able to get a new pair of glasses too. Since I haven’t been able to wear my contacts in ages, I might actually spurge a little and actually get a nice pair instead of a cheap pair.

I’ll get pics of the lappy up sometime soon too … hopefully this weekend.

I should be in a good mood right now … I have my new laptop to get set up. But I’m not happy. In fact, I’m fuckin’ pissed. Today is supposed to be payday for me. But since I’m working at home, they mailed my check. Kelly said she mailed in on Friday. That means I should have gotten it on Saturday or today at the latest. Well … I went and got my mail about 10 minutes ago … no paycheck. What the hell do I do now? I have rent to pay. And other bills due soon as well. And now I won’t get my check in the bank until after 5pm on Wednesday since there’s no mail tomorrow. That means my money won’t be available until Thursday. If that check doesn’t show up on Wednesday, I’m really fuckin’ screwed.

So today went from a high to rock bottom. Dammit. Why can’t anything go my way?

Starting tomorrow, I’m going to have a really short commute … from the couch to the computer … LOL. I’m starting to work from home. So I’ll get to sleep in in the morning. Not sure when I’ll get up … probably 7am. I’ll still take a shower ‘cuz I’ll feel icky if I don’t. But I may just put my pj pants back on … :G-razz3:

I was able to get my work laptop all set up on my wireless network. I’m having an issue with outgoing email though. The outgoing mail server was set up to use port 25 at work. I have my personal email set up using port 26. Neither port works on the laptop for the work email server. But my personal email one does work, so I set that up for now. Hopefully Justin will have some time tomorrow afternoon to help me troubleshoot.

My biggest issue right now is figuring out how to set things up. I’ll either use my computer desk or my kitchen table … probably the desk to start with to see how that goes. I’m not sure if I’m going to hook my monitor up to the laptop or not. I’m used to using a single screen, but it would be nice to have 2 for work purposes. I’ll have to see how it goes tomorrow. I might just have to hook up a keyboard to it though. It’s hard getting used to the keyboard on the laptop. I think it’s maybe because it’s flat and not at an angle.

I’d better get back to figuring out what I’m doing with my office space. I keep getting distracted by General Hospital though.

I will only be going in to the office 3 more times … this year and as long as I have this job. I start working from home on January 2nd. I will miss a few things (but not much … LOL).

1. actual human contact
2. talking to Chris and Carla
3. Parking Lot Boy

You’re probably thinking … who the hell is Parking Lot Boy? Well, he’s a guy I see in the parking lot where I park for work (aren’t I just clever with the nicknames … LOL). He drives a big red Dodge Ram with a topper. Very cute … or at least I think so. I got VERY close to him today. He was leaving work the same time as I was and I was right behind him and his friend … close enough to hear them talking. I didn’t eavesdrop or anything … I just wanted to hear his voice. He’s got a deep one … :drool2: I’m a sucker for a guy with a deep voice. But of course … I’m a candy ass, so I’ll never say anything to him. And there’s only a chance of seeing him 3 more times. Why am I suck a frickin’ candy ass? I could have said something to him tonite … or to his friend (he was parked close to my car). But no. Alas … I’m left to admire from afar.

<= me

On Friday, I found out that I might be working from home after the first of the year. My bosses aren’t really happy with the management of the building where our office is. I agree with them.

I thought it would just be temporary until they found office space somewhere else. Well … I was wrong. Justin and I talked about it this morning, and it turns out that it will be a permanent thing … and it could happen before the end of the year.

It does make sense for me to work from home. I’m in the office by myself for 3 days a week right now since Justin works from home those days. And since it’s just the 2 of us … why have the expense of an office. There are both pros and cons for me in this …

Pros:

• shorter commute
• I can sleep in
• won’t have parking deducted from my paycheck
• can work in my pjs if I really want to
• I can enjoy an entire hour for lunch instead of spending half of it in the car driving home and back
• if the weather’s crappy, I don’t have to go out in it
• won’t be freezing or roasting like the office can get

Cons:

• no human contact
• unsure as to when/how I’ll get my paychecks
• unsure as to how/if office supplies will be reimbursed
• if we need to talk on the phone, it will come out of my cell phone minutes balance

Overall, I don’t mind the idea. The only thing I’m worried about is the lack of human contact. I already have minimal contact most weeks. Not leaving my apartment to go to work might just drive me completely batty. Hopefully it won’t. I’ll just have to wait and see how things go.

I know, I know. I’ve been a really bad blogger. I only posted 5 times last month. I’m sorry. I’ve probably lost the 2 readers I did have.

Not a whole lot has been going on with me. I’ve been working overtime for the past couple weeks trying to get the project we’re working on wrapped up. The deadline for it was Wednesday. We’re not done … But we’re CLOSE and the client understands. We’re going to do a dry run next week and we plan on going live the week after that. Hopefully everything runs smoothly because the week after that is my vacation. I will be SO glad when we’re done with it. Then I can go back to my normal 8 hour days. the only good thing about the overtime is the money. I had almost $350 in overtime on my last check (that I got yesterday). Of course, the government takes most for taxes … you bastards … :G-LOL: But still … it was a nice check.

But after we finish up this project, we have another one. I don’t plan on doing overtime again until we get close to the end if it is needed.

Other than work, not much else is going on. I’ve spent some time with Robin and Dannilynn. But otherwise … nothin’. I might go out to the Knickerbocker Liquor Locker (I just love saying that … LOL) tomorrow nite with Carla (she works across the hall from me) to see Avalanche. I haven’t seen them in a while, and I’ve never been down to the Knicker. I’ll have to see how much I end up spending tomorrow and what mood I’m in. I like Carla, and I think she’d be fun to hang out with. And I sure as hell ain’t meeting any men just sitting around on my couch. I’m sure I could find some out there. :drink_beer:

Back to my boring old life … General Hospital is on SoapNet right now, so I think I’m gonna go crash on my couch and watch the rest of it and then head off to bed. I need to change this routine or I’m gonna end up the old woman with all the cats … LOL. meow … ;)

Yesterday, Carla mentioned hearing in the news that someone was beat up on the MSUM campus. It turned out it was the intern that was working for them (they are in our old office, which is across the hall from our current office). I found this article on the Forum website this morning: Possible hate crime incites students (a snippet follows since you have to register (for free) to read the articles)

Local college students are speaking out about an assault on a Minnesota State University Moorhead senior last week that police are investigating as a hate crime.

Paul Marquardt, 23, of Edina, Minn., said he was attacked Thursday night by four men slinging homophobic slurs at him as he walked to his car. The men shoved him down and he was knocked out, waking up a few minutes later, face down in the dirt.

In response to the attack on Marquardt, a local gay rights group has organized a march Thursday on MSUM’s campus to raise awareness and stop hate crimes.

Moorhead Deputy Police Chief Bob Larson said such attacks are unusual and police have no suspects and little to work from in the ongoing investigation.

Marquardt said he has no idea what the men look like.

Then on the news tonite, they had a story about it … that things didn’t add up. And I found this article on the Forum’s website … Police refute hate crime claim (again, a snippet of the article)

Moorhead police said late this afternoon they do not believe a hate crime occurred on the Minnesota State University Moorhead campus.

On Friday, MSUM senior Paul Marquardt, 23, of Edina, Minn., told police he was attacked by a group of people Thursday night who yelled homophobic slurs at him as he walked to his car.

He said the men shoved him down and he was knocked out.

Moorhead police, noticing some discrepencies in what Marquardt was telling people, questioned him further and Marquardt eventually stated he was not confronted by attackers and did not hear anti-gay comments.

Police said Marquardt maintains he was pushed down and injured by persons unknown.

Now, I have met this guy, but don’t really know him. I do know that from what others have said, he’s not the “brightest bulb on the tree”. If he did give a false report, that’s just sad … and wrong. It should be interesting the next time he comes in to work.

Man … it feels like Friday today. I’ve already worked 40 hours this week. I’ve been working 2 extra hours every day (except for Fridays) this week and plan to do so again next week. We’ve got a bunch of stuff to get done at work. We’re not behind or anything … we just want to get the module we’re working on done because there’s at least one more waiting in the wings (maybe more, I’m not sure). And the extra hours will be all overtime even though I’m on salary. That’s gonna be nice. Especially since I got a raise on my last paycheck. I’ll have 16 hours of overtime on my next paycheck. I think I figured that out to be an extra $315 before taxes. And if I do that for the next pay period, that’s gonna add up. I should keep doing that until I have enough for the laptop that I want. I really want one.

And to make it feel even more like Friday … Cup qualifying is on right now. Why Thursday nite? Because the race this week is Saturday nite. Gotta love nite races. I guess I won’t be going out this weekend … LOL. Or maybe I should go find a bar that has big screen tvs and is showing the race. Maybe I could find me a man. LOL I wish.